How a MDPD Detective manages to screw up a simple photo line up...

Everyones familiar with the method police use to identify suspects known as the "Photo Lineup".  It can't get any easier or more basic than a cop asking a witness to take a look at some photos and see if they can pick out the subject, easy enough.  Yet if a photo lineup is conducted improperly it can actually end up doing more harm than good, fact of the matter is that there are specific procedures that need to be followed when introducing a photo lineup to a witness.  There was a great piece on 60 Minutes a while back that addressed photo lineups and the consequences of conducting them improperly, if you have a few minutes, take a look...

At the very least what we come away with after watching that story is that not only is there a science to putting a photo lineup together, but there are a specific set of instructions that are to be read to the witness before showing them the photo line up.  What's this got to do with us?  The lead detective, Jorge Baluja, in the Bernardo Barrera mortgage fraud case used photo lineups several times during the course of his investigation (if that's what you wanna call it), at this point considering his track record, you have to ask yourself, did he conduct the photo lineups correctly?  Let's take a look, starting with the instructions that he's supposed to read before showing the lineups to the witness, from his deposition, here's one of the defense attorneys asking Detective Baluja about these very instructions...

Ok, that's easy enough, the detective acknowledges that on the back of each group of photos there are instructions that the Detective has to read before conducting the photo lineup, fine.  So does Detective Baluja go ahead and read these instructions to the witness before conducting the photo lineup?  Let's hear it in his own words...

Oh really Jorgito?  You can't recall whether you read the witness the instructions or not?  That's no good now is it?  Let me refresh your recollection Jorge, you didn't.  How do we know that Detective Baluja conducted the photo lineup without reading the witness the instructions?  Because he says so!

DUH!  Those pesky instructions, what a pain in the ass, huh Jorge?  It's not like they're given to you with the GOD DAMN INSTRUCTIONS WRITTEN ON THE BACK OF THE PHOTOS NOW IS IT?!  Never one to disappoint now are you Detective Baluja?


Now that we've seen how Detective Baluja conducts his photo lineups, let's see what its like from the perspective of the witness that's suffering through a Baluja photo lineup.  Here's a excerpt from the deposition of co defendant Michael Martinez, with ASA Bill Kostrzewski asking a few questions regarding a Baluja photo lineup...

So what was the purpose of the lineup?

Ok, so the purpose of Detective Baluja showing Mr. Martinez the lineup was to identify Attorney Delaila Estefano, did he know anyone else that was in the lineup?  Lets see...

So Mr. Martinez knew some of the people in the line up, but not all of them?  We wonder though, who else was included in the photos that Mr. Martinez was shown other than Attorney Delaila Estefano?  Let's see...

Oh, OK!  Detective Baluja is trying to get the witness to identify a female out of a group of six photos where at least 2 maybe three of the photos are of MEN!  WTF?!  Out of the remaining photos, one is of the witnesses coworker, another is of some unknown woman and the other is OF THE WITNESSES FIANCE?!  Did we read that right?!  Let's continue...

Hey, you know, sometimes it's tough having a fiance, it doesn't hurt for someone to show you a picture of your significant other now and again just to see if you recognize her.  WTF IS THIS $HIT?!?!?!??!?!  Come on!  How was anyone able to sit through this deposition without laughing their a$$es off?  

Let's recap, knowing how important it is for the witness to be read the instructions for the photo lineup, the pride and joy of the MDPD's Mortgage Fraud Task Force forgets to read the instructions to the witness.  Ok, moving on, Detective Baluja conducts another photo lineup where he's trying to get co defendant Michael Martinez to identify attorney Delaila Estefano's photo out of a lineup of six photos, they consist of the following photos:

1. photo of an unknown woman
2. photo of a coworker named Danny
3. photo of female coworker
4. photo of witnesses fiance
5. photo of at least one other male
6. photo of attorney Delaila Estefano

Now, how hard would it be to pick out the female attorney from this line up?  Let's see, you're asked to identify a female from six photos, at least two of the photos are of males, so now that leaves you with four photos to choose from.  From those four, one of them is a female coworker and the other is your FCUKING FIANCE!  Now you're left with two, an unknown dark skinned woman and lastly the female attorney that the Detective wants you to identify.  Could this be the most flawed photo lineup in the history of the MDPD?!  WTF IS THIS $HIT!?  ANYONE?  There could only be one photo line up that could be worse than this, let's take a stab at it and see if we can find which one is Mr. Bernardo Barrera from this group of six photos...

Hmmm...  That's a tough one isn't it?  Funny isn't it?  Not really when you consider that the photo lineups that Detective Baluja ran were almost as bad as this one or maybe worse?  At least our lineup consists of all males!  The level of incompetence exhibited by Detective Jorge Baluja throughout his career would be hilarious if not for the fact that his piss poor police work destroys the lives of the poor innocent people that he victimizes.  Unfortunately for the people that we've been writing about, Detective Baluja has met his match in the state attorneys office, a person far more incompetent than himself, a person whose actions are far more egregious than his.  We'll discuss him a little later on, trust me on that.